Published: November 27, 2006 05:18 pm            

Large cigar makers hoping to smoke the Guiness competition

TAMPA, Fla. — Cigar makers hope a 101-foot, 53-pound stogie completed over the weekend is headed for the record books.

Wallace and Margarita Reyes, co-owners of Gonzalez Habano Cigar Co., put the finishing touches on the $5,100 cigar at the Cigar Heritage Festival on Saturday. Cigar makers worked for about 75 hours over several weeks to build it.

The Reyeses said the giant stogie marks the 85th anniversary of their cigar factory. They also hoped to beat a record 66-foot cigar made in Havana last year.

“I wanted to do something special,” Wallace Reyes said. “I wanted to do something big.”

Local officials documented the completed cigar so it can be submitted to Guinness World Records. They said it could make the 2008 edition of the book unless someone rolls a bigger cigar before July.

        

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